A hospital in Pittsburgh is making the season a little bit jollier with an adorable gesture that combines our two favorite things: the holidays and babies. After one of its nurses took to her knitting needles, nurses at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee-Womens Hospital dressed up newborns in the nursery unit in teeny, tiny "ugly sweaters" Christmas and TBH, shut everything else down because this is the cutest thing on the Internet.
Nurses at the Pittsburgh hospital gave everyone a little Christmas cheer when they presented families with ugly sweaters to put on their newborns.
The sweaters are all created by nurse Caitlin Pechin, a staff nurse in the Mother Baby unit at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital who has made special creations for the hospital in the past, including football-shaped caps to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In a post published on Facebook, the hospital even mentions that these were the first sweaters Caitlin had ever made, but they look absolutely perfect!
This is the fourth year in a row that nurses at the UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital have dressed up their newborns in tiny seasonal outfits.
Speaking with Good Morning America, Jeff Hodges, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer, told the morning news program that they have celebrated the holidays this way every year since 2015.
"We do it to spread love for the whole family," Hodges explained "We do 9,000 deliveries a year, but to that set of parents who will be in attendance, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime sort of experience."
About 10 babies were chosen to receive the holiday sweaters and even got a chance to meet Santa in a special celebration Monday.
Nurses at UPMC decorated the hallways to look more festive, and Hodges even broke out his Santa suit to take a few pictures with families stuck at the hospital during the holiday season.
As for the nursing staff at UPMC, they get a kick out making parents feel extra special about their new babies.
"It’s really rewarding," Pechin explained. "Everyone is going through a really special time in their life, but to add that extra-special experience and see their babies dressed up is the most important thing we do."
Nurses will even come in wearing their own ugly Christmas sweaters, just to get even more into the holiday spirit.
The hospital posted pictures of these cute Christmas kids online and the photos have since gone viral.
People online are obsessed with how cute these kids are. The post has been shared about 485 times, and it's easy to see why.
“I tried to make ugly Christmas sweaters for the babies, but I actually think they turned out pretty cute,” Pechin told CBS 2 Pittsburgh. She added that her favorites sweaters were "the Christmas tree, my second favorite was the snowman, and then my absolute favorite was the penguin. It just turned out so cute."
"It lifts everyone up and brightens the mood," Hodges told GMA, trying to explain why staff at UPMC takes the time to make holiday magic every year. "Staff members will even come in on their days off to do these things because they love it."
